The E ST UA OLD O PERPET BOY S. THOMAS’ COLLEGE, MT. LAVINIA NEWSLETTER 31.12. 2006 OLD BOYS’ ASSOCIATION, FOUNDED 1886 I RAN for my LIFE…. and WON! n a quiet Sunday afternoon we met Revd. Denlie Peiris in his quaint home in Moratuwa. Seated on a reclining chair the Revd. re-lived his days at the School by the Sea, days in the thirties and the forties. It was a Obeautiful story to listen to. He had walked into the portals of S. Thomas', in the year 1926 into Form 1B where Mrs. Vanculenberg was his class teacher. They didn't come packed like sardines in school vans or whiz in cars. That's how we did it in the 80's and the 90's. In those days, going to school was an adventure. A whole gang of Moratuwa Thomians would gather at the Moratuwa Railway station and catch a train to Mount. From the station, the group of boys would pick their way through coconut plantations and reach College. Those were good days and the College was still trying to establish itself at Mount. For those of us of the later years, the College without the Then talking of the Royal Thomian encounter, Revd. Chapel is unimaginable. For Revd. Peiris, his College, Peiris recounts the practice where ingenious schemes was, at least for sometime, without the Chapel! He said, were hatched to get more than one boy into the grounds “Near the present main gate there was nothing but a big with just one ticket. It seems only the price of the ticket hole. On that Warden McPherson started building the has changed today. Chapel, the Chapel of the Transfiguration. It took four years to build and I saw it being built as a school boy”. Days of Revd. Peiris and the days that followed were Having witnessed the construction of the edifice as a crucial for the College. The Second World War had its school boy, Revd. Peiris was elated to be invited as a impact on College life in the 1940's. There was a Preacher at the Chapel of the Transfiguration in the year shortage of writing paper and building material. The 1999. College Magazine that was printed every term published only one edition during the war years. Talking of his days at the College, the Revd. said “I must admit that I hated sports! Nevertheless, the master in On the 4th of April 1942, a military officer called at the charge of Sports insisted that I took part in Cross bungalow of Warden de Saram and requested “vacant Country running for the College. I had never run in my possession within 24 hours” of the College. That same life and shivered at the thought of it. On the day of the evening, it is recorded that a small detachment of the race, the presence of the master in charge with his glaring Ceylon Light Infantry took over the College telephone eyes made me run for my life in fear and it turned out that for military use. I came first in the event.” It was on the next day, the 5th of April 1942, that the now Many things have changed with time, but some things famous Easter Sunday raid of the Japanese unfolded in will always be the same. One of those that has been the skies over Ceylon. This was also the day on which a passed down through the generations is the art of Japanese aeroplane crashed onto the edge of the Big attributing nick names to teachers. Revd. Peiris, being Club grounds, narrowly missing the Chapel and giving polite as he is, refers to them as 'loving' nicknames! He rise to the legend of the Japanese ghosts in the Big Club recalls of a master called 'Keyhole'. He earned this title which haunted the Winchester boys for generations for he used the keyholes to spy on the boys. Obviously he afterwards! was a Boarding Master. 2 This format of service has been maintained by our school to date and has become an event which is much looked forward to during Yuletide. In fact the same format of service has now spread to other Churches, schools and universities in Sri Lanka. Revd. Denlie Peiris is to one of the few remaining Thomians of his era. Even after many years of leaving the College, he still remains grateful to the College for giving him a good education and equipping him to face the challenges that lay ahead in his life. This remains the same whether it be in the forties, fifties or the nineties. Time Travellers. Revd. Peiris keeps in touch with the ‘Old Boy’. It was also in the forties that the Gurutalawa branch of the College was opened. In 1942 the State Council Editors’ Note: The Editors thank Revd. Denlie Peiris for granting this interview and sharing his days at the School by decided to close all schools in Colombo. The Warden at the Sea. We wish him long life and good health. that time, Warden de Saram, did not want to close Esto Perpetua. S.Thomas'. Therefore he started exploring the possibilities of opening branches to house the school boys. Fortunately for the Thomians, Mr. and Mrs. Leslie A Tribute to a Great Warden de Saram gifted their farm in Gurutalawa. There were many who came forward to assist the College, during the war years. Kingswood College, Kandy rendered the College a great service by putting her buildings and her playground at the disposal of the College. Mr. Ivor de Saram (son of the financial secretary of STC Mr. R.O. de Saram and at that time Police Magistrate of Kandy) who lived next door to Kingswood gave a part of his house for the College office. Mr. Lloyd Daniels gave the College a house rent free, at Peradeniya. Another blessing that came from the war was the opening of the Preparatory School at Bandarawela by one of the best teachers S. Thomas' had ever had, Mr. W.T. Keble. The era of military occupation of the College ended in January 1946 and the College returned to Mount Lavinia. In the same year, S. Thomas' was blessed with the appointment of Revd. Roy H. Bowyer Yin as Acting Chaplain and he served the College till 1962. Father Yin as he was fondly known served as a mathematics teacher of the College Forms and Chaplain during his tenure at College. He adopted a very unique style in setting his term exam papers where the students were encouraged f to "Try all the questions" which meant that one could The Centenary Group paid tribute to one of the answer all the 9 questions set and not "answer 7 out of Greatest Wardens of S. Thomas’, Canon R.S. De the 9 questions". This did not mean that Revd. Bowyer Saram, in unveiling a bust statue of the Warden. Yin expected one to answer all nine questions but to try The unveiling took place at the Annual General as many questions as he could and to assess a student on th the basis of how well the paper was answered. It was he Meeting of the OBA held on the 10 of February who introduced the “Service of Nine Lessons and 2006, at the College. The statue was unveiled by the Carols” which was a King's College Cambridge Warden Dr. David A. Ponniah and the President of tradition. the Centenary Group Mr. Lincoln Fernando. 3 Holmes and the mystery of the missing wine (as narrated by a locksmith of notoriety) “It was the normal practice in the Dormitory to collect funds during the last weekend of each year to have a Buriyani feed and this particular year we were allowed to consume a small quantity of Port Wine. The case started where Mr. George Ekanayake, a very popular sportsman was in the sick room and his lion share was locked up in a prefect's cupboard. Oscar Livera and another chap (whose name I cannot recollect) asked me if I could do something and pick the lock, as I was noted as a clever locksmith. I had no alternative but to show my guts, I made a small tool with a piece of wire and within a short time I showed my colours. Oscar and the other chap drank most of the wine leaving me a little to finish. Human biological process turned wine to 'water' and we emptied it into the bottle and brought it back to full level. George Ekanayake came back from the sick room and the prefects smacking their lips opened the cork. The 'water' had fermented and the cork puffed up and behold they were pushed back with the pungent aroma. They became furious and went to Dr. Hayman's room and complained. Dr. Hayman came into the dormitory and pacing up and down he pondered on who would have opened the cupboard. He came to the conclusion that this must be the work of Donald as I was notorious for this type of work, especially opening locks. He sent for me and directly put the question to me, thus “Donald did you open the cupboard?” giving me no chance to deny and I had to admit. I told “Yes, Sir” and he asked me as to what I did with the wine. I said I drank the entire quantity. He was shocked and said “You drank all that wine!”. He took the cane and gave me six thundering cuts. Dr. Hayman also deduced that Oscar had a connection to Backus, the God of Wine and so he sent for him.